Re: Young and the Restless
:hmmm:
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
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The young and the restless are in search of…the million-dollar question is, of what? Today, the youth of Pakistan are in search of everything. They are in search of an identity, what they stand for, and what it is they represent. They are in search of a future, which studies they should undertake, and if it will lead to a career. What jobs they look for, and will these jobs ensure sustainability. Most importantly, which values they uphold, the ones they see around being practised or the ones they are taught as being right. With so much confusion and uncertainty, the country has become a haven for PBCD (Pakistani-born confused desis).**
Imran Khan is a rare example of a leader understanding the dilemmas and aspirations of the youth of Pakistan, and therefore, he has decided to give direction and a road map to what he believes is one of the most vibrant, talented and patriotic younger populaces present in the world. The previous examples comprise Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who caught the imagination of the youth and who motivated them to be part of the political process. However, the roti, kapra, makan (bread, clothing, shelter) appeal was too broad to address specific youth issues. The others to address the youth have been a few religious parties. These, on seeing the identity crisis of the youth, have been successful in brainwashing them to believe that the purpose of their life is to protect their own defined version of Islam as they have the licence to kill, shoot and blast any supposed opposition to what these Islamists believe is right.
With a history of being manipulated and betrayed, the youth of Pakistan became distrusting, sceptical and cynical, and that is dangerous. It is the young who are full of energy and dreams, and it is the young that have the capability of doing what the older generation will even be hesitant to think about. Therefore the country became a favourite bashing ground for anybody who was old enough to see deterioration in every sphere of life. Thus, when Khan raised his voice to address the youth and for the youth, despite all scepticism, it was a breath of fresh air for anybody clicking on the social networking sites. And seeing that the only politician to declare youth as the biggest asset of Pakistan was Khan, the youth responded. Never in the history of Pakistan have children aged three onwards to youth in their teens, 20s and 30s been so taken with a political leader. That is why Khan calls this youth a ‘tsunami’ rising and crushing all opposition in its way.
Khan’s vision for the future of youth in Pakistan was well represented by the launch of the youth policy in a recent convention. Policies in Pakistan are either made by staid bureaucrats in five-star hotels or are dictated by foreign stakeholders. The beauty of this policy was that the direction and vision came from Khan, but the policy was made and presented by young people themselves. This in itself is a radical change from tradition. Following are the highlights of Imran Khan’s road map for the youth of this country.
Identity of the young Pakistani: Khan’s vision of a young Pakistani has been inspired by Allama Iqbal’s concept of shaheen (eagle). Therefore, the core values of youth are to have a vision and a higher purpose, where the young have dreams of a better country, a better life and a better future. The second core value is self-esteem and self-belief, the passion to make it all happen without dependence on others. The third core value is courage, to be fearless to fight the odds, never to give in or give up.
To provide youth a voice in the future of Pakistan: Khan’s vision is that the youth should be active decision makers in the country’s future direction. While other parties are typical dynasties where they are launching their heirs to the throne (Maryam Nawaz, Hamza Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari), Khan has made a bold announcement of allocating 25 seats to the youth. Some will laugh it off as an eyewash that how the youth have the money to fight elections. The answer is that all deserving young candidates will be sponsored by the party.
To provide youth careers and entrepreneurial facilities: an educated but unemployed mind is a dangerous breeding ground for crime and destruction. Keeping this in mind, Khan has announced the establishment of Jawan Markaz (Youth Centre), which will act as connecting and consulting houses for giving young entrepreneurs funds and facilitation for starting their own business aside from ensuring two million jobs for them.
To make health and wellness a goal: Khan has always claimed that the sheer natural sports talent he has seen in Pakistan is unique. Being a sportsman himself, Khan envisions health and fitness as a core youth activity. This will be facilitated by building sports complexes in every rural and urban locality where the youth are imbued with positive energy and a sporting talent.
To provide youth with pride in being a Pakistani: Khan’s major passion is to restore the pride and honour of this country for the future generations of Pakistan. That includes making Pakistan a hub of trade and opportunity for overseas Pakistanis and overseas investors; where people choose to come to study because it has institutions of excellence; where people come for tourism purposes because it has unmatched natural beauty; where people want to migrate to and acquiring the green passport is more important than the red and blue ones.
The Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf’s focus on youth has definitely stirred other parties to give attention to a segment that is going to constitute 47 percent of the voters in the coming election. However, they are making the mistake of treating them the way they have treated all voters in the past: when it is near the election time, buy them. Thus, you see a flurry of laptop distribution worth billions and a blitz of youth festival activities that includes everything they could think of. But they are underestimating the intelligence, awareness and the access to information present in this generation. The youth will never be fooled by these parties’ newfound love for the youth. What they really want is direction, identity and dignity. You may be able to buy somebody’s vote but it is very difficult to buy a young person’s heart, mind and soul, and it is this inner voice that Imran Khan appeals to and shares with the young of this country.
The writer is a leadership coach, columnist and a former information secretary of the PTI Punjab. She can be reached at [email protected]
